Unit 5

Human population and the environment

• Population:
• It is defined as the group of individuals belonging to the same species
which live in a given area at a given time
• Population density :
• It is expressed as the no of individuals of the population per unit area or
per unit volume which varies with environmental changes and interactions
with other living organisms

Parameters
affecting
population size

Immigration
Birth rate Death rate and emigration
No of live birth No of deaths Arrival and dispersal
Per 1000 people Per 1000 people of individuals from
A particular area
Population growth:
• Rapid growth of population fro the past 100 years was assumed
due to the difference in death and birth rate.
• From 1800 – 1930 (130Yrs) Population raised from 1 billion to
2 billion but within 1975 (45 yrs) become 4 billion and expected
to be 10 billion by the year 2050 calculated by world bank.

Causes for rapid population growth:

• Decrease in death rate and increase in birth rate.
• Availability of antibiotics and immunization.
• Increased food production, clean water and air.
• Decreased famine related deaths and infant mortality.
• In agricultural countries for workmanship in fields, people have
more no of childrens.
Characteristics of population growth:

Exponential growth:
Since it is rapidly increasing expressed as 102, 103, 104 etc.,

Doubling line:
Time required to double the population size at a constant annual rate
Td = 70 / r
where r = annual growth rate. If there is 2% growth rate population doubles
in 35 years.

Infant mortality rate:

% of infants died in one year has decreased in the last 50 years and rate
differs from country to country.

Total fertility rate:

Average no of children delivered by a women in her life time is called
TFR. It is 2 in developed countries and 5 in developing countries
Characteristics of population growth
Replacement level:
2 parents bearing 2 children will be replaced by their offspring. Infant mortality
may alter this and high in developing countries.
Male – female ratio:
Ratio of girls and boys has been upset in many countries including china and
India. In china it is calculated to be 100:140
Demographic transition:
• Population growth related to economic development.
• Death rate falls due to improved living conditions and even birth rate falls
because of the same.
• As a result low population growth which is called demographic transition
Problems of population growth:
• Demand for food and natural resources
• Inadequate housing and health services
• Loss of agricultural lands
• Unemployment and socio – political unrest
• Environmental pollution
Population variation among different nations
• Different nations will have different demographic transition and even
different growth path results in significant shifts in geographical
distribution of world population
• At present it 7 billion and out of which 80% in developing and
remaining 20% in developed countries.
• In turn 20% land surface occupied by developing countries and
remaining 80% by developed countries
• Population increasing rate in developed countries like USA , Canada
Australia is less than 1% and in developing countries greater than 1%
• Kenya is the fastest population growing country where 40 million
people are currently residing if current rate continues population will
be doubled by 2015
• China and India shares 1/3rd of worlds population
• Europe and north America accounts for 14% of worlds population
Variation of population based on age structure
• Age structure of population can be classified in to 3 classes
• 1. pre – productive population (0 – 14 years)
• 2. reproductive population (15 – 44 years)
• 3. post productive population (above 45 years)

• Based on the above cases population variation explained by

3 cases
• 1. pyramid shaped population variation Ex: India Nigeria
etc.,
• 2. bell shaped population variation Ex: France , USA etc.,
• 3. urn shaped population variation Ex: Germany, Italy etc.,
Pyramid shaped
(increase):
Figure shows the pre
productive group
population is more
indicated at the base.
post reproductive is less
indicated at the top.
The large no of young
people will soon enter in to
reproduction age group
which increases the
population growth and less
no of old people indicates
the decrease in death rate.
Bell shaped (stable):
Figure shows that the
pre-productive
population age group
are more are less
equal and so people
entering in to the
reproductive age
group will not change
the population and
thus the population
growth is stable.
• Urn shaped variation
(decrease)
• Figure shows that the pre
productive age group
population is smaller than the
reproductive age group
population.
• In the next 10 years, the
number of people in the
reproductive age group
population is less than the
before resulting in a decrease
of population growth
Population explosion:
The enormous increase in population due to low death rate (mortality)
and high birth rate (natality) is termed as population explosion
• Doubling time:
• Population explosion can be understood by
calculating the doubling time i.e. the number of
years needed for a population to double its size.

• Causes or reasons for population explosion:

• Modern medical facilities and life expectancy i.e.
in 1950 average life of the human being was 40
years but now it is 61 years
• Illiteracy is also a reason.
 DOUBLING TIMES
• INDIA- 28 YRS • UNITED STATE-87 Y
• TURKEY- 28 YRS • UK-231 YRS
• NIGERIA- 27 YRS • ITALY-99YRS
• SAUDI ARABIA- 25 Y • FRANCE-117 YRS
• PAKISTAN-21 YRS • JAPAN-58 YRS
Environmental and social impacts of growing
population:
❖ Poverty is one of the main impact.
❖ Infant mortality is one of the tragic indications of
poverty still in 34 developing countries.
❖ 1/10 die before they reach an age of 5.
❖ Leads to environmental degradation.
❖ Over exploitation of natural resources.
❖ Renewable resources are under threat Increase in
diseases, economic inequity, and communal wars.

Remedy:
We should immediately reduce the fertility rate through
birth control programmes.
 Family welfare programme
• It is an integral part of overall national policy of growth
covering human health, maternity, family welfare, child
care and women’s right.
• Main objectives:
• To slow down population explosion by reducing fertility.
• Over exploitation of natural resources, is reduced.
• Population stabilization ratio:
• It is obtained by dividing crude birth rate by crude death
rate.
• In developed countries it is 1, which is indicating zero
population growth.
• In developing countries it is 3, which is expected to be
lowered by 2025 which is possible only by family welfare
programmes.
 Family planning programme
• It provide educational and clinical services
that helps the couples to choose how
many children's to have? and when to
have them?
• Such programs vary from culture to
culture.
• It provides information on birth spacing,
birth control and health care for pregnant
and infants.
• It also reduced abortions and death from
pregnancy.
Family planning programme - Objectives:

• Decrease infant mortality 30 per 1000.

• Achieve 100% registration of births, deaths,
marriages and pregnancy.
• Encourage late marriage and later child bearing.
• Encourage breast feeding.
• Enables to improve women's health, education and
employment.
• Family planning for women who needs birth
spacing and limited no of children.
• Constrain the spread of AIDS/ HIV.
• Prevent and control communication diseases,
• Promote vigorously small family norms.
• School education upto age 14 free and
compulsory.
 Methods of family planning (Sterilization)
• Traditional method:
• It includes some traditions like taboos and folk medicines
• Modern methods:
Permanent method:
• Permanent method or sterilization is done by a minor
surgery
• Tubectomy:
• It is female sterilization done by tying the tubes carrying
ovum to the uterus.
• Vasectomy:
• It is male sterilization done by tying the tubes carrying
the sperm.
• Both are very simple procedures done under local
anesthesia which are painless and patients have no post
operative problems.
 Temporary method:
• condoms are used by male to prevent
sperms
• copper Ts are small objects placed inside
the uterus by a doctor so that the ovum
cannot be implanted even if fertilized.
They do not disturb any functions in a
women's life.
• Oral contraceptive pills and injectable
drugs are also available that prevents
sperm fertilizing ovum.
 Environment and human health
❖Both are inseparable entities.
❖If one affected the other will also be affected.
❖Physically fit person, not suffering from any disease, is
called healthy person.
❖Millions of people die every year due to illness because of
environmental pollution. nutritional, biological, chemical
and psychological factors affect human health.
❖Environmental degradation was increased by rapid
increase in population.
❖15% of worlds population controls 85% of natural
resources.
❖People living in urban area produce little food and
consumes more natural resources and generate more
wastes, polluting the environment
 Hazards

Chemical
Physical Pesticides,
Biological
Radioactive, UV, ind.waste,
Bacteria, viruses,
CFC, noise, global Heavy metals,
parasites
Warming etc., Combustion of
fuels
 Physical hazards and their health effects:
• Radioactive radiation – affects cells functions of
glands and organs.
• UV radiations – skin cancer
• Global warming – temperature increase causes
famine, mortality.
• CFC – damages ozone layer.
• Noise – painful irreparable damage to ear.
• NIMBY syndrome:
• Not In My Back Yard, which describes the opposition of
residents to the nearby location of something they consider
undesirable, even if it is clearly a benefit for many.
• Ex: Airport, It benefits a city econmically, but no one wants it near
them, because of the noise pollution and traffic it generates.
 Chemical hazards and their
health effects:
• Combustion of fossil fuels – asthma,
bronchitis and lung diseases
• Industrial effluents – kill cells and causes
cancer and death
• Chlorinated pesticides (DDT) – affect food
chain
• Heavy metals (Hg, Pb, Cd) – contaminate
water, causes ill effects.
• CFC - Damage ozone layer, allows more
UV rays, cause skin cancer.
 Biological hazards and their
health effects
Bacteria viruses
and parasites –
causes diseases
like diarrhoea,
malaria, parasitic
worms, anemia,
respiratory
disease, cholera.
Preventive measures:
• Wash hands before
taking food.
• Cut short and clean nails.
• Maintain skin, teeth and
hair.
• Drink good quality water.
• To take food in hot
condition.
• Wash fruits and
vegetables before
consumption.
• Avoid plastic and
aluminum containers.
• Do simple exercises
daily.
 Human rights
• Human rights are the fundamental rights, which are
possessed by all human beings irrespective of their caste,
creed, nationality, sex and language.
• The rights cannot be taken away by any legistature or any
government act. As natural rights they are seen as
belonging to men and women by their very nature.
• Universal declaration of human rights (UNDHR) by the UN
was established in 1948.
• India is a demoratic country.
• The aim of our government is to ensure happiness to all the
citizens wit equal rights, opportunties and comforts.
• Every citizen must enjoy certain rights and also has certain
duties towards the country.
some of them globally accepted are as follows:

• Human right to freedom.

• Human right to property.
• Human right to freedom of
religion.
• Human right to culture and
education.
• Human right to constitutional
remedies.
• Human right to equality.
• Human right against exploitation.
• Human right to food and
environment.
• Human right to good health.
 Indian constitution
• It provides for civil, social, cultural, educational
and political rights including the right to judicial
enforceability.
• Article 14: provides equality before law.
• Article 15: prohibits discrimination in terms of race,
religion, caste, sex or place of birth.
• Article 16: equal opportunity in employment.
• Article 19: freedom of speech, expression, forming
associations and union and so on.
• Article 20: protection from conviction.
• Article 22: rights of a person in custody.
• Article 23: prohibits traffic in human beings and
forced labour.
• Article 24: prohibits explosion of labor children.
• Article 25: freedom to practice any religion.
• Article 26: to establish and maintain charitable
and religious institution.
• Article 27: prohibits compulsion for paying tax for
the growth of religion.
• Article 28: guarantees secular character of
instruction in edu. institutions.
• Article 29: guarantees minorities to conserve their
language.
• Article 30: guarantees right of linguistic community
to run edu. institutions.
• Article 32: provides right for constitutional
remedies for enforcing rights.
 Value education
• Education is nothing but learning through which knowledge about
the particular thing can be acquired. With the help of our knowledge
and experience, we can identify our values to understand ourselves
and our relationship with others and their environment.

Types
Formal education
Value education
Self related value based or
To provide
i.e. to read , write, Environmental
guidance
Will get good job, To aware about
For youth that
tackle any Natural resources
How to behave
problem, And conservation
In society
Etc.,
 Objectives of value education
• Improve the integral growth of human beings.
• Create attitude and improvement for
sustainable life style.
• To increase awareness about various aspects.
• To create awareness about values and its
significance and role.
• To understand about our natural environment.
• To understand the interaction between living
and non living organisms and interaction with
environment.
 Concept of value education
• Why and how can we use less resources and energy?
• Why do we need to keep our surroundings clean?
• Why should we use less fertilizers and pesticides in
farms?
• Why should we save water and keep their sources
clean?
• Why we should separate garbage in to degradable and
non degradable?

All these issues are linked to the quality of human life

and they deal with love and respect to the nature.
 Methods of imparting value education

Studying
biographies of
great men: This
method makes
use of the lives
of the great
man as the
subject matter
for trying to
elicit their good
deeds and
thoughts worthy
for emulations.
• Telling:
– process of developing values to enable a pupil to
have a clear picture of a value-laden situation by
means of his own narrate a real situation.

Story Telling
• Modeling: method by which an individual
perceived as ideal values is presented to the
learners as a model.
• Role playing: acting out the true feelings of
the actor or actress by taking the role of the
other person but without the risk of reprisals.

Role playing
• Problem
solving: it is a
method wherein
a dilemma is
presented to the
learners asking
them what
decisions they
are going to take.
 Types of values
Universal or social values:
• These are the values reflected in our real life like joy, love, compassion,
tolerance, service, truth etc.,
Cultural values:
• Varies with respect to time and place. Concerned with right or wrong good
or bad true or false and behavior of human beings. Reflected in language,
aesthetics, education, law etc.,
Individual values:
• Our personal principles and the result of individual personality. shaped by
teachers and parents. It is reflected in individual goals, relationships,
commitments etc.,
Global values:
• Global values stress the inter relationship between the nature and the
environment if this is disturbed there will be an ecological imbalance and
leading to catastrophically results
Spiritual values:
• Promote conservationism and transform our consumerist approach.
• Reflected in self resistant, self discipline, reduction of wants etc.,
HIV / AIDS
• AIDS is abbreviated
as Acquired immuno
deficiency
syndrome. It is
caused by a virus
called HIV which is
human immune
deficiency virus.
• It is discovered in
the year 1983.
source was
assumed as
• i.) through an african
monkey
• ii.) vaccine
programme
 World scenario
• 90% of affected persons were found in developing
countries.
• 13% of world population was affected by AIDS@
Africa 3 million died till 2003.
• India ranks II with 5.1 million affected.
• It is high in Thailand Myanmar and south Africa.
• In India maharashtra, Tamilnadu, Delhi, Uttar
Pradesh, Karnataka and Goa are in series.
• Till sep 2003 24,667 were identified.
Modes of transmission
 Not transmitted by
• Tears
• Food and air
• Cough
• Handshake
• Mosquito, flies
• Urine, saliva etc.,
 Functions of HIV in human body
• AIDS itself doesn’t kill humans. Inspite they weaken
the immune system there by diseases easily attack
and kill the person.
• White blood cells responsible for formation of
antibodies are called T – helper cells which are
responsible for immune system.
• They are invaded by HIV and there by all diseases
can easily attack the body.
Symptoms of AIDS
Initially no symptoms but
fever, headache, fatigue
were found.
HIV was most active
inside the body multiplies
and kills more and more T
cells.

Consumption of alcohol
increases AIDS.
• Minor symptoms Major symptoms
• Persistent cough Fever for more than a month
• Skin disease Diohrea for more than a month
• Viral infection Cough & TB for more than 6 months
• Fungal infection Fall of hair from head.
• Frequent fever 10% wt loss in short period.

Control and preventive measures of AIDS

Once a person is infected he is once for all infected. No cure but can
be prevented. The basic approaches to control AIDS are
1. Education.
2. Councelling.
3. Drug treatment.
4. Primary health care.
5. Prevention of blood borne HIV.
 Effects of AIDS

• 1. Enormous death rate, which affect the

environment and natural resources.
• 2. due to death, loss of labor and level of
production decreases.
• 3. water requirement increases to maintain a
hygienic environment.
• 4. work efficiency decreases for HIV infected
persons.
 Women and child welfare

The main aim of women welfare is to improve the

status of the women by providing oppurtunities in
education, employment and economic independence.
 NEED OF WOMEN WELFARE
• Women suffer gender discrimination and devaluation at
home, at work place, in matrimony, in public life and
power.
• High number of cases of dowry deaths, rape, domestic
violence, criminal offences and mental torture to women.
• Human rights of women are violated in the male
dominated society.
o Generally in policy making and decision making
process, women are neglected.
 OBJECTIVES OF WOMEN
WELFARE
To provide education.
To impart vocational training.
To generate awareness about the
environment.
To improve the employment oppurtunities.
To aware problems of population.
To restore the dignity, status, equality and
respect for women.
 OBJECTIVES OF A NATIONAL COMMISSION
FOR WOMEN

• To examine constitutional and legal rights for

women.
• To review existing legislations.
• To sensitize the enforcement and
administrative machinery to women’s causes.
 ENVIRONMENTAL DEGRADATION AND
WOMEN WELFARE

• The development work not only affects the

natural environment but also affects the
traditional, social, cultural and family life of
women.
• Ex-1: After losing the forest cover and getting
rehabilitated from their native places, men
usually migrate to towns for some job while the
women are left behind to look after family.
• Example-2: Mining projects play havoc with
the life of rural women.
• Men can still work in the mines or migrate to
towns for same job after getting compensation
from the govt.
• The displaced women are the worst affected
as they do not get any compensation.
 VARIOUS SCHEMES TOWARDS
WOMEN WELFARE
• The national network for women and mining
(NNWM)-it is fighting for a “gender audit” on
india’s mining companies.
• United nations decade for women.
• It witnessed inclusion of several women
welfare related issues on international agenda.
• International convention on the elimination of all
forms of discrimination against women
(CEDAW)-it has created an international standard
for the protection and promotion of women’s
human and socio-economic upliftment.
• Non-government organisations as mahila
mandals (NGO’s)-it creates awareness among
women of remote villages to empower them, train
them, educate them and help them to become
economically dependent.
• Ministry for women and child development-it aims
to work for the upliftment of women by family
planning, health care, education and awareness.
 CHILD WELFARE
• Children occupy nearly 40% of total
population.
• They are the assets of the society.
• 20 million children in our country are estimated
to be working as child labours.

REASON FOR CHILD WELFARE

• Poverty- poverty is the maib reason to force these
children to work in unhealthy conditions.
• Want of money- parents require miney for their
family, so they are in a position to send their
children for work.
 VARIOUS SCHEMES TOWARDS
CHILD WELFARE
1. UN conventions on right of child or international
law-it formulated a set of international standards and
measures to promote and protect the well being of
children to our society.
RIGHTS OF THE CHILD
(a) the right to survival-it emphasizes good standard of living,
good nutrition and health.
(b) the right to participation-it means freedom of thought and
appropriate information to the child.
(c) The right to development-it ensures access to education,
child care and support.
(d) the right to protection- it means freedom from exploitation,
in human treatment and neglect.
• 2. World summit on children-it had foccused
agenda for well being for the children.
• 3. Ministry of human resource development
(MHRI)
• Environmental degradation and child welfare-
water borne diseases are biggest threat to
children.
• Centre for science and environment (CSE)-
“children consume more water, food, and air
than adults, and hence more susceptible to
any environmental contamination.”
 ROLE OF INFORMATION
TECHNOLOGY IN ENVIRONMENT
 ROLE OF INFORMATION
TECHNOLOGY IN ENVIRONMENT
• Information technology plays an important
role in the field of environmental
education.
• Information technology means collection,
processing storage and dissemination of
information.
• A number of software have been
developed so study about the
environment.
• Internet facilities, information through
 REMOTE SENSING

Remote sensing refers

to any method, which
can be used to gather
information about an
object without actually
coming in contact with
it.

Components: a
platform, an air craft, a
balloon rocket and
satellite.
 APPLICATIONS OF REMOTE SENSING

In agriculture: remote sensing

can provide valuable information
for land and water management.

In forestry: sustainable forest

management requires reliable
information on the type, density
and extent of forest cover wood
volume and bio-mass etc., such
information provides by remote
sensing.
• In land cover: spatial
information on land use
is required at different
scales depending upon
use.
• Remote sensing data is
converted to map, the
spatial resolution plays a
role on the scale on
mapping.
• Water resources: such
as surface water body
mapping, ground water
targeting, wetland,
inventory, flood
monitoring and many
more.
 DATA BASE
• Database is the collection of inter-related
data on various subjects. In the computer
the information of data base, is arranged
in a systematic manner that is easily
manageable.
Applications:
• The ministry of environment and forest.
• National management information
system.
• Environmental information system.
 GEOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION
SYSTEM (GIS)
✔ Gis is technique of
superimposing various
thematic maps using digital
data on a large number of
inter-related aspects.
✔ Geographic information
systems (GIS) (also known
as Geospatial information
systems) are computer
software
✔ Hardware systems that
enable users to capture,
store, analyse and manage
spatialially referenced data .
• geographic information
system (GIS), or
geographical information
system, is any system that
captures, stores, analyzes,
manages, and presents data
that are linked to location.
• GIS systems are used in
cartography, remote
sensing, land surveying,
photogrammetry,
geography, urban planning,
emergency management,
navigation, and localized
search engines.
• Applications
• GIS technology can be
used for scientific
investigations, resource
management,
• asset management,
archaeology,
environmental impact
assessment, urban
planning,
• cartography,
criminology, geographic
history, marketing,
logistics, prospectivity
mapping, and other
purposes.
• For example, GIS might
allow emergency planners
to easily calculate
emergency response
times (i.e. logistics) in the
event of a natural
disaster,
• GIS might be used to find
wetlands that need
protection from pollution,
• or GIS can be used by a
company to site a new
business location to take
advantage of a previously
under-served market.
 SATELLITE DATA
• It helps in providing
correct and reliable
information about
forest-cover.
• It also provide information
of atmospheric
phenomena like monsoon,
ozone layer depletion,
smog.
• From the satellite data
many new reserves of oil.
Minerals, can be
discovered.
 WORLD WIDE WEB
• More current data is available on
world wide web.
• Application:
• These on-line learning centre
provides the current and relevant
information on, principles,
problems, queries, application of
environmental science.
• It has digital files of photos, power-
plant lecture presentations
animations web-excersise and
quiz.
 Human health
• Information technology also plays a key role in
human health.
• It helps the doctors to monitor the health of
people of that area.
• The information regarding outbreak of epidemic
diseases from remote areas can be sent more
quickly to the district administration to take
corrective measures.
• Online Information. It provides vast quantum of
information on diffrent subjects including human
health and environment.
• Now, patients can seek help
of a super specialist doctor
placed at far off distance.
• Many hospitals now, take
on-line help of experts to
provide better treatment and
services to their patients
• This has become possible
only because of
advancement of IT in the
recent times.